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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Dell briefly won 3PAR’s acceptance with a $24.30-per-share counteroffer in August 2010, but HP ultimately acquired the data-storage company after raising its bid to $33 per share. The final agreement valued 3PAR at $2.35 billion in enterprise value, well above the $1.6 billion figure in the original headline.
How the Dell–HP bidding war unfolded
The contest lasted just over a week, with successive offers changing both the per-share price and which bidder had 3PAR’s agreement.
| Date | Bidder and development | Offer or outcome |
|---|---|---|
| August 23, 2010 | HP made its initial proposal. | $24 per share; HP described the enterprise value as $1.6 billion. |
| August 26, 2010 | Dell countered, and 3PAR accepted Dell’s offer. | $24.30 per share, approximately $1.6 billion net of cash. |
| August 27, 2010 | HP raised its offer. | $27 per share, which HP said valued 3PAR at $1.8 billion. |
| September 2, 2010 | HP and 3PAR reached a final agreement. | $33 per share and $2.35 billion in enterprise value. |
| September 27, 2010 | HP completed the acquisition. | 3PAR became part of HP. |
The $1.6 billion headline figure refers to the early stage of the contest, not the price at which HP completed the acquisition. The figures also use different valuation descriptions: Dell’s counteroffer was reported net of cash, while HP’s final agreement was stated as enterprise value.
Why Dell and HP wanted 3PAR
3PAR made storage systems designed for highly virtualized data centers and cloud computing. Its clustered, multi-tenant utility-storage architecture was attractive to companies seeking to serve multiple customers or workloads from shared infrastructure.
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Dell said its interest reflected the importance of 3PAR’s storage technology to customers and its potential to strengthen Dell’s position in cloud-based storage. HP presented the acquisition as a way to extend its portfolio across storage, servers, networking, and Converged Infrastructure.
Why HP’s bid displaced Dell’s
Dell’s $24.30 offer was accepted first, but that did not end the competition. HP raised its price to $27 per share, and then to $33 per share in the final agreement. HP said the $33 offer represented a 33.3% premium to Dell’s offer price and qualified as a “Superior Proposal” under the merger agreement between Dell and 3PAR.
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The original deal with Dell also included a $72 million termination fee payable under the circumstances specified in the agreement. That fee was part of the transaction terms, not an additional per-share payment to 3PAR investors.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the headline’s $1.6 billion means
The $1.6 billion figure captures an early proposed valuation: HP’s August 23 offer was $24 per share, and Dell’s later $24.30 counteroffer was described as approximately $1.6 billion net of cash. The final HP transaction was materially higher: $33 per share and $2.35 billion in enterprise value. Those numbers describe different offers and valuation measures, so they should not be treated as interchangeable estimates of one unchanged deal.
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